


above all else, fight for found family

by bishopsknifetrick



Series: avengers: endgame fix-it fics [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: :), Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Canon Divergence - Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Fix-It, Fluff, Gen, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Or romantic, Platonic Relationships, i mention tony, i only mentioned bruce briefly i am sorry baby, if you want to read it that way :)))
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-27
Updated: 2019-04-27
Packaged: 2020-02-08 11:32:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,503
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18622489
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bishopsknifetrick/pseuds/bishopsknifetrick
Summary: (Avengers: Endgame spoilers ahead.)“Did you see her?”Steve looks at Bucky, who looks back at him with glinting steel eyes; he never thought he’d see his friend’s concern written all over his face again. He doesn’t have to ask who he means.“I did,” Steve says simply.“You could have stayed,” Bucky says after looking back out at the lake. He doesn’t show it—Bucky never let himself after HYDRA—but Steve knows his friend better than he knows his own soul. The very idea hurts Bucky more than he’ll let anyone think.“Maybe.” Steve focuses his eyes on the horizon; a forest, leaves swaying gently from a soft breeze running through them, and the lake, as calm as the apocalypse was chaotic. After a minute, he spoke again, “I was tempted.”“Why didn’t you?” Bucky asks.Or, a fix-it to the ending of Avengers: Endgame.





	above all else, fight for found family

**Author's Note:**

> i hated the ending of avengers: endgame with all my heart and soul so i pulled a thanos and said "fuck it, i'll do it myself"
> 
> unbetaed, if you see a mistake please let me know!

Steve came back.

Only five seconds passed in his universe, but he spent hours returning the stones to when and where they were originally taken. Difficult, yes, and he almost got into a fight multiple times, but those timelines are no longer in danger and nothing will change in his own.

His body aches, but it’s over. He breathes in; then he breathes out. Again, and again, and again, deep, just to confirm that everything will be the same and he’ll still be safe when he takes his next breath. Nothing changes, and for the first time, he isn’t anticipating an invasion on Earth. It’s over.

And still...

And still his body is wound up like a spring, and still there’s a buzzing in his head telling him to be on guard, that someone’s coming, that it isn’t time to rest just yet, and still his ears ring with the force of a thousand bells and still he feels like he has to fight and still he must have caution in his chest and _still_ he has just this _faintest_ sense that there’s got to be more—

“Hey, punk,” Bucky says, a small but genuine smile on his face. He claps a hand on Steve’s shoulder, but it lingers and he leaves himself with an arm around Steve. Steve relaxes.

He is okay. It's all _over._

“Buck,” Steve says, putting on a smile of his own. He looks at Bruce, who powers down the equipment with a look of relief, and at Sam, who stands off to the side attempting to suppress the smile on his face with his arms crossed.

“How long did it take?” Sam asks; at the same time, Bucky relents and pulls away from Steve.

“Hours,” Steve replies, but he doesn’t give any details. “Hell of a trip.”

“Damn,” Sam smirks, shaking his head, “must be tired.”

“‘Course I am. We all are.”

“Well, it’s over now. All of it. You’ve gotta be hungry, right? I’m in the mood for, hmm, shawarma, if you wanna come with me and some of the others soon,” Sam says, raising his brows. Steve smiles, shakes his head.

“I’ll come by later. Right now, though, just wanna relax for a little bit and do nothing.“ Steve glances at Bucky when he speaks, which Sam catches; he groans, though he’s got a toothy grin on his face.

“Awh, so it’s like that, huh? It’s been five seconds!” Sam throws his arm in a “fuck you” gesture and turns around to leave the two. “Come on, Bruce, let’s leave these two alone. We gonna treat ourselves.”

Bucky throws a few choice insults at Sam, which he wholeheartedly returns, and Steve listens as he hears Sam’s chortles and Bruce’s voice fade. Steve watches them walk through the forest for a moment before he turns and walks slowly towards the water; he doesn’t have to look over his shoulder or listen for footsteps to know Bucky’s right behind him.

They reach the lakeshore and stand there, listening and watching. This time around, though, they aren’t watching out for themselves. They aren’t looking for hidden enemies. They aren’t in danger. They listen to and watch the world they’ve brought everyone back to. And for once, it’s almost totally peaceful.

“I didn’t get to see Tony after the fight,” Bucky says. “Is he alright?”

Steve sighs and digs his hands in his pockets. Flashes of the aftermath of the battle come to mind—looking around as the aliens were dusted, helping wounded soldiers around him, rushing to Tony’s side. The right side of him was raw, and _God,_ the smell of steaming metal and burnt flesh was awful. But he had a heartbeat, and his brain, though slower, quieter, was still active.

“He’s in a coma,” Steve says solemnly. “They’re going to treat him in Wakanda.”

“Is he stable?”

“Yeah. Weak, but stable. They aren’t sure when he’ll wake up, but they’re trying their best.”

They fall silent after that. After a few minutes, Bucky speaks.

“Did you see her?”

Steve looks at Bucky, who looks back at him with glinting steel eyes; he never thought he’d see his friend’s concern written all over his face again. He doesn’t have to ask who he means.

“I did,” Steve says simply.

“You could have stayed,” Bucky says after looking back out at the lake. He doesn’t show it—Bucky never let himself after HYDRA—but Steve knows his friend better than he knows his own soul. The very idea hurts Bucky more than he’ll let anyone think.

“Maybe.” Steve focuses his eyes on the horizon; a forest, leaves swaying gently from a soft breeze running through them, and the lake, as calm as the apocalypse was chaotic. After a minute, he spoke again, “I was tempted.”

“Why didn’t you?” Bucky asks. He isn’t bitter. His voice is sobering. “We all would’ve been happy for you.”

“I know, Buck,” Steve murmurs. “But she lives in the past. I miss her—I really do. And maybe at one time, I would’ve given everything to go back, live a normal life, have a family, even. But... looking back at where we are, what we’ve done...”

Steve looks at Bucky. He has dark circles under his eyes and he stands wearily, but his face isn’t hollow like when Steve saw him on the causeway, so many years back when he thought he was long dead. Even after HYDRA took everything from Bucky, stripped him of his identity, spliced his nerves with wires, went deep under his skin and substituted his bones with metal, made him a wraith to carry out their murders and the closest thing to a demon on Earth—even after they reminded him with every erasure that he was no longer human and would never be again, he is still Bucky.

Bucky, who still sees and will always see him as Steve Rogers and not Captain America.

Bucky, who fought alongside him in the war and against the troops of Thanos, even despite the fact that he could have very well died a third time.

Bucky, who he owes more than anything.

“I look at where we are, and the only reason we’re here now is because we found each other,” Steve says, swallowing the lump in his throat. He isn’t sure if he meant either Bucky or the other Avengers. Deep down a part of himself told him it was mostly the former. “I loved Peggy, Buck, you know that. But... I already have a family. I have my ties to you by choice. I’ve fought so hard to keep that family. Fought so hard to get it back—“

He looks at Bucky again, the image of his best friend turning to dust before his very eyes coming back to the surface. God, he would’ve given it all if he had to. He had to.

Bucky watches him intently as he speaks. He understands, Steve knows he does. He’s thankful.

“—and I have it now. I’m not going to throw it all away to go live in the past. I didn’t fight Thanos to bring back Peggy. I fought him to bring back you all. Above all else, _I fought for my found family,_ ” Steve says, wrapping an arm around Bucky’s shoulders in a sort of hug. “You kept me going the last five years when I thought it was all lost.”

Steve pauses, then continues, “And I couldn’t leave you alone to do stupid shit and get hurt.”

Bucky shakes his head, laughs, wiggles out from under Steve and pushes Steve’s arm off him. He still stands close to Steve, and he smiles a little.

“From what I saw, before we came to the field, you were going to fight Thanos and his army alone,” Bucky says, “You took—“

“Yeah, I know, I took all the stupid with me,” Steve nods, grinning. He takes a deep breath, side-glances at Bucky, and says, “But really, Buck. I couldn’t live in the ‘40s again even if I wanted to. I still have you, after all, and I meant it when I said I was with you ‘til the end of the line.”

Bucky smiles, bigger than Steve’s seen in the past few years—his eyes crinkle at the edges and he suppresses what Steve can only interpret as a bashful chuckle.

“I know.” Bucky looks down at his feet for a second and turns away from the lake. “We should go, ‘fore Sam thinks we’re making out in the woods.”

Steve breaks out into a laugh, throwing his arm over Bucky’s shoulder again and leading the way. This time, Bucky lets him stay at his side. The duo leaves together, abandoning the equipment for one of their team members to pick up later. For the first time since they found each other, they enjoy having the other without any threat of danger, two souls that have lost each other finally coming back together undisturbed. They don’t talk. They don’t have to.

**Author's Note:**

> they may not have killed steve but they killed his characterization and I Am Not Standing For That!!!!
> 
> edit: anyway i am interested in rewriting other parts of the movie/exploring the au i just created with this one lmk if you'd like to see that :)


End file.
